When:

Where:

Adelphi University International Immigration Film Festival

The goal of the festival is to promote discussion and greater awareness of the realities, challenges, perspectives and potential of immigrants.

The festival will take place over five days and feature ten films from around the world. It is free and open to the public. Attendees can stay for one showing or both depending on their schedule. Each day will feature a different immigrant population or issue and will begin with a speaker who will introduce the films and frame the issue.

There will also be opportunities for Q&A with a few of the directors.

Monday, November 12

Saeed1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m.
PAC, Concert Hall

A film about a Syrian family who have recently resettled on Long Island and are dealing with the aftermath of war and personal tragedy.

Year: 2017Director: Joan Stein
Screenwriter: John Drew

Soy Nero2:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
PAC, Concert Hall

Nero, born and raised in Los Angeles but deported to Mexico crosses the border illegally to return to the only home he’s known. Risking life for nation, he becomes a “green card soldier” in the U.S. army as a shortcut to citizenship.

Running time: 118 minYear: 2016Director: Rafi Pitts

Tuesday, November 13

From the Land of Gandhi12:00-1:45 p.m.
University Center, Room 313

This story of 4 skilled immigrants, a decade after they came to study in the US, places a human face to the employment-based Permanent Residency backlog. The 7% annual country-cap (quota) in the employment-based permanent residency system gets glaring in the 21st century when immigrants from India account for half of high-skilled workers in the US.

Director: Prakash Wadhwa

Timbuktu2:00 p.m.-3:45 p.m.
University Center, Room 313

Not too far from Timbuktu, now ruled by religious fundamentalists, Kidane lives peacefully in the dunes with his wife Satima, his daughter Tonya, and Issan, their shepherd. In town, the people suffer, powerless, from the regime of terror imposed by the Jihadists. Music, laughter, cigarettes, even soccer have been banned. Every day, the new improvised courts issue tragic and absurd sentences.

Kidane and his family had been spared the chaos that prevails in Timbuktu, but when their destiny changes abruptly, Kidane must face the new laws of the foreign occupants.

Running Time: 97 minYear: 2014Director: Abderrahmane Sissako

Wednesday, November 14

The Chinese Exclusion Act12:00-3:00 p.m.
PAC, Concert Hall

This film sheds light on the important connections between the Chinese Exclusion Act and the history of American civil liberties, immigration, and culture. By examining the socio-economic and geo-political forces that led to the Act, the film uncovers the unmistakable and wide-ranging consequences of national attitudes towards race, culture, politics, and society.

Directors: Ric Burns and Li-Shin Yu

The Future Perfect3:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
PAC, Concert Hall

A smart and innovative look at the possible futures of a young Chinese immigrant in Buenos Aires, told in the stilted language of an elementary Spanish language textbook.

When Moises Serrano was just a baby, his parents risked everything to flee Mexico in search of the American dream. Forbidden to live and love as an undocumented gay man in the country he calls home, Serrano saw only one option: to fight for justice. Serrano is like the thousands of other young people growing up in the United States with steadfast dreams but all the cards stacked against them. The film chronicles Serrano’s work as an activist traveling across his home state of North Carolina as a voice for his community, all while trying to forge a path for his own future.

In this groundbreaking documentary, one of the first to delve into the lives of trans women and sex workers, The Salt Mines explores the lives of Sara, Gigi and Giovanna, three Latina transwomen who for years have lived on the streets of Manhattan supporting their drug addictions through sex work. They made their temporary home inside broken garbage trucks that the Sanitation Department keeps next to the salt deposits used in the winter to melt the snow.

The three friends share the place known as The Salt Mines with a varied community of homeless people. The follows their daily lives day and night until the place is closed and sealed by the city, forcing everyone to disperse.

Narrated by Academy Award nominee Edward Norton, THE APPLE PUSHERS follows immigrant street vendors who are rolling fresh fruits and vegetables into the neighborhoods in New York where finding a fresh red ripe apple can be a serious challenge. Through the lens of their powerful and deeply personal stories, the film examines such hot-button issues as food access, the obesity crisis, immigration, entrepreneurship, and what it really takes to achieve the American Dream.

Running Time: 73 minYear: 2012Director: Mary Mazzio

East Side Sushi2:30 p.m.-4:15 p.m.
Center for Recreation and Sports, Campbell Lounge 1

Single mom Juana can slice and dice anything with great speed and precision. After working at a fruit-vending cart for years, she decides to take a job at a local Japanese restaurant. Intrigued by the food, she learns to make a multitude of sushi on her own. Eventually she attempts to become a sushi chef, but is unable to because she is the ‘wrong’ race and gender. Against all odds, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery, determined to not let anyone stop her from achieving her dream.

Running Time: 108 minYear: 2015Director: Anthony Lucero

Sponsored by the DACA International and Immigration Task Force, Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, International Student Services, Office of Diversity and Inclusion and University Libraries.